Funding Program Finder

Search the Karma Funding Map for funding programs via the public API.

The registry has 6 program types: grants, hackathons, bounties, accelerators, VC funds, and RFPs. Use "programs" / "opportunities" / "funding" — not just "grants".

For full API parameters, response shape, and known values, see references/api-reference.md.

Workflow

Step 1: Map the User's Request

User says	Maps to
"Ethereum programs"	ecosystems=Ethereum + ecosystem search strategy
"hackathons"	type=hackathon
"hackathons on Ethereum"	type=hackathon + ecosystem search strategy
"bounties on Solana"	type=bounty + ecosystem search strategy
"bounties over $500"	type=bounty&minGrantSize=500
"accelerator programs"	type=accelerator
"VCs investing in DeFi"	type=vc_fund&name=DeFi
"open RFPs from Optimism"	type=rfp&organization=Optimism
"grants and hackathons on Ethereum"	type=grant,hackathon + ecosystem search strategy
"DeFi funding on Optimism"	name=DeFi + ecosystem search strategy
"programs over $50K"	minGrantSize=50000
"funding under $100K"	maxGrantSize=100000
"infrastructure"	name=infrastructure
"active programs"	status=active
"retroactive funding on Optimism"	categories=Retroactive%20Funding + ecosystem search strategy
"programs on Karma"	onlyOnKarma=true
"what's closing this week"	sortField=endsAt&sortOrder=asc&status=active
(no query)	Ask what they're looking for

Budget shorthand: K→000, M→000000 (e.g., $50K → 50000, $1M → 1000000).

URL encoding: Values with spaces must be percent-encoded in curl URLs (e.g., categories=Retroactive%20Funding).

Step 2: Ecosystem Search Strategy

If the query has no ecosystem component, skip this step and go to Step 3.

The ecosystems metadata field is often empty — many programs are linked to an ecosystem only via the communities field. Use a two-phase approach:

Phase 1 — Try ecosystems= first: Query with ecosystems={name}. If this returns sufficient results (5+), present them and move to Step 4.

Phase 2 — Enrich with community lookup (only if Phase 1 is sparse): If Phase 1 returned fewer than 5 results, run these two additional queries and merge:

1. Community UID lookup: fetch all communities from GET /v2/communities?limit=100, find the best match by comparing against community names (case-insensitive, partial match), then query with communityUid={uid}
2. name={name} — text search on title, universal fallback

Deduplicate all merged results by id before presenting.

Step 3: Build and Execute the Request

Use curl via Bash. CRITICAL: Every request must include the tracking headers below. Never omit them.

Before the first request, generate a tracking ID:

INVOCATION_ID=$(uuidgen)

Every curl call must include these query defaults and tracking headers (see references/api-reference.md for details):

# Query defaults (override sortField=endsAt&sortOrder=asc for deadline queries)
isValid=accepted&limit=10&sortField=updatedAt&sortOrder=desc

# Required headers — include on every request
# Read the version from this skill's frontmatter metadata.version
-H "X-Source: skill:find-funding-opportunities"
-H "X-Invocation-Id: $INVOCATION_ID"
-H "X-Skill-Version: {metadata.version}"

# No ecosystem
curl -s -H "X-Source: skill:find-funding-opportunities" -H "X-Invocation-Id: $INVOCATION_ID" -H "X-Skill-Version: {metadata.version}" \
  "https://gapapi.karmahq.xyz/v2/program-registry/search?isValid=accepted&limit=10&sortField=updatedAt&sortOrder=desc&type=hackathon"

# Ecosystem — Phase 1
curl -s -H "X-Source: skill:find-funding-opportunities" -H "X-Invocation-Id: $INVOCATION_ID" -H "X-Skill-Version: {metadata.version}" \
  "https://gapapi.karmahq.xyz/v2/program-registry/search?isValid=accepted&limit=10&sortField=updatedAt&sortOrder=desc&ecosystems=Ethereum"

# Ecosystem — Phase 2 (only if Phase 1 returned < 5 results)
curl -s -H "X-Source: skill:find-funding-opportunities" -H "X-Invocation-Id: $INVOCATION_ID" -H "X-Skill-Version: {metadata.version}" \
  "https://gapapi.karmahq.xyz/v2/communities?limit=100"
# Match community UID from response, then:
curl -s -H "X-Source: skill:find-funding-opportunities" -H "X-Invocation-Id: $INVOCATION_ID" -H "X-Skill-Version: {metadata.version}" \
  "https://gapapi.karmahq.xyz/v2/program-registry/search?isValid=accepted&limit=10&sortField=updatedAt&sortOrder=desc&communityUid={uid}"
curl -s -H "X-Source: skill:find-funding-opportunities" -H "X-Invocation-Id: $INVOCATION_ID" -H "X-Skill-Version: {metadata.version}" \
  "https://gapapi.karmahq.xyz/v2/program-registry/search?isValid=accepted&limit=10&sortField=updatedAt&sortOrder=desc&name=Ethereum"

Step 4: Format Results

Include the program type in each result. Adapt the detail line based on type:

Found 42 programs (showing top 10):

1. **Optimism Grants** [grant] — Optimism
   Retroactive and proactive funding for Optimism builders
   Budget: $10M | Status: Active
   Apply: https://app.charmverse.io/...

2. **ETHDenver 2026** [hackathon] — Ethereum
   Annual Ethereum hackathon and conference
   Dates: Mar 1–7, 2026 | Deadline: Feb 15, 2026
   Apply: https://ethdenver.com/apply

3. **Rust Smart Contract Audit** [bounty] — Solana
   Audit Solana program for vulnerabilities
   Reward: $5,000 | Difficulty: Advanced
   Apply: https://superteam.fun/...

Showing 10 of 42. Ask for more or narrow your search.

Field Mapping

• Name: metadata.title (fall back to name)
• Type label: type in brackets: [grant], [hackathon], [bounty], [accelerator], [vc_fund], [rfp]
• Ecosystem: metadata.ecosystems joined with , (fall back to communities[0].name)
• Description: metadata.description truncated to ~120 chars

Type-Specific Detail Line

• grant: Budget: {programBudget} | Status: {status}
• hackathon: Dates: {startsAt}–{endsAt} | Deadline: {deadline}
• bounty: Reward: {programBudget} | Difficulty: {difficulty if available}
• accelerator: Stage: {stage if available} | Deadline: {deadline}
• vc_fund: Check size: {minGrantSize}–{maxGrantSize} | Stage: {stage if available}
• rfp: Budget: {programBudget} | Org: {organizations[0]} | Deadline: {deadline}
• fallback: Budget: {programBudget} | Status: {status}

Common Fields

• Deadline: deadline (top-level) formatted as Mon DD, YYYY (or "Rolling" if null)
• Apply link: submissionUrl (top-level), fall back to metadata.socialLinks.grantsSite or metadata.website or metadata.socialLinks.website (first non-empty)

Edge Cases

Scenario	Response
No results	If the user specified an ecosystem, run the full ecosystem search strategy (Phase 1 + Phase 2) before giving up. If no ecosystem was specified, broaden non-ecosystem filters first (remove type, budget, or keyword filters). If still none: "No programs found matching your criteria. Try broadening — remove type, ecosystem, or budget filters."
No query	Ask: "What kind of funding are you looking for? I can search grants, hackathons, bounties, accelerators, VC funds, and RFPs — filtered by ecosystem, budget, category, or keywords."
"more results" / "page 2"	Re-run with page=2
API returns empty programs array	Check if filters are too narrow. Suggest removing one filter at a time.
API response missing expected fields	Use fallback values: show "N/A" for missing budget, "Rolling" for missing deadline, skip missing description. Never fail on a missing optional field.

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Action
HTTP 5xx	API server issue	"The Karma API is temporarily unavailable. Try again in a moment."
HTTP 429	Rate limiting	Wait 5 seconds, retry once. If it fails again, tell the user to wait.
Connection timeout	Network or API down	"Could not reach the Karma API. Check your connection or try again shortly."
Malformed JSON response	Unexpected API change	"Got an unexpected response from the API. The response format may have changed."
Community lookup returns no match	User's ecosystem name doesn't match any community	Fall back to ecosystems= and name= queries only. Do not fail — partial results are better than none.

Troubleshooting

Ecosystem search returns 0 results

The user asked for an ecosystem (e.g., "Monad grants") but all 3 queries returned nothing.

• Verify the ecosystem name against the known values in references/api-reference.md
• Try a broader name= search with just the keyword
• The ecosystem may genuinely have no programs listed yet — tell the user

Community UID lookup finds no match

The community list (~48 entries) doesn't contain a match for the user's query.

• Try partial matching: "OP" should match "Optimism"
• Try without the community query — ecosystems= and name= may still return results
• Do not block on this — proceed with the other two queries

Results look stale or incomplete

Programs may have outdated metadata (missing budgets, old deadlines).

• Present what's available; do not hide results with missing fields
• Use "N/A" or "Rolling" for missing values
• Note to the user: "Some programs may have incomplete information"